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Monday, March 17, 2014

Things you didn't know about St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick was not born in Ireland. Historians agree that his parents were Roman citizens who lived in modern day Britain. He was born approximately 385AD.

St. Patrick was a slave.

St. Patrick was kidnapped by Irish warriers at the age of 16 who bought him to Ireland and sold him as a slave. As a slave, he spent ears herding sheep before escaping at the age of 22.

Your chance of finding a four leaf clover.

About 1 out of every 10,000 clovers will have four leafs. The four leafs initially stood for Faith, Hope, Love, and Lucky. Speaking of luck, finding a four leaf clover was considered lucky as early the 1600s.

There are more of Irish decent in America today than there is in all of Ireland.

Between 1845 and 1853, millions of Irish fled Ireland for America because of the potato famine. This rush of immigrants today counts for 34 million people with Irish ancestry. The total population of Ireland is 4.6 million people.

St. Patrick's Day was a dry holiday in

Ireland up until 1970.

Irish Law between 1903 and 1970 made March 17th a religious holiday for the entire nation, meaning all pubs were shut down. This law was overturned only after the Irish government realized they could make St. Patrick's Day a tourist event for springtime tourists.

Corned Beef and Cabbage isn't an traditional Irish dish-- it is American.

Corned Beef and Cabbage was first created from Irish American Immigrants who moved here during the Great Potato Famine. Most immigrants were so poor that beef was the cheapest meat available and cabbage was a cheap and plentiful springtime vegetable.